James R | On 27, Jan 2020

Mudbound director Dee Rees is back at Sundance today with her latest Netflix film The Last Thing He Wanted.

Based on the 1996 novel by Joan Didion, it follows hardscrabble journalist Elena McMahon, who finds herself on dangerous ground as the Iran Contra Affair’s arms for drugs plot reaches its tipping point.

Anne Hathaway stars as the reporter, who loses the thread of her own narrative when a guilt-propelled errand for her father (Willem Dafoe) thrusts her from byline to unwitting subject in the very story she’s trying to break.

With Ben Affleck co-starring and Rees writing and directing, the result is likely to make a splash at Sundance before it’s released worldwide by Netflix on 21st February.

Here’s the trailer:

 

Toby Jones, Ben Affleck round out cast of Dee Rees’ The Last Thing He Wanted

11th July 2019

Dee Rees is rounding out the cast for The Last Thing He Wanted, with Toby Jones and Ben Affleck both joining the project.

The director’s latest film after the Oscar-nominated Mudbound is based on the 1996 novel by Joan Didion and follows hardscrabble journalist Elena McMahon, who finds herself on dangerous ground as the Iran Contra Affair’s arms for drugs plot reaches its tipping point.

Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables, Ocean’s 8) leads the cast, alongside the already announced Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project), but now, the cast is rounding out its final roles. Emmy nominee Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Infamous, Journey’s End), Academy Award nominee Rosie Perez (Bounty Hunters, Fearless, White Men Can’t Jump), Double Academy Award winner Ben Affleck (Argo, ‪Good Will Hunting‬, ‪Gone Girl‬), Drama Desk and Obie Award winner Edi Gathegi (Jesus Hopped The A Train) and Mel Rodriguez (The Last Man on Earth, Overboard, Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams) are now among the cast.

The film is adapted for the screen by Marco Villalobos and Dee Rees, based on Joan Didion’s book of the same title, and is currently filming in Puerto Rico.

Netflix will release the film in 2019.

 

Willem Dafoe joins Anne Hathaway in Netflix’s The Last Thing He Wanted

3rd June 2018

Willem Dafoe has joined Anne Hathaway in Netflix’s The Last Thing He Wanted.

The film, which was announced last week, is the latest project from Dee Rees, the director of Mudbound. Based on the 1996 novel by Joan Didion, it follows hardscrabble journalist Elena McMahon (Hathaway) who finds herself on dangerous ground as the Iran Contra Affair’s arms for drugs plot reaches its tipping point. Now, Dafoe has signed on to co-star as Elena’s father.

The casting follows one of Dafoe’s best supporting roles of his career in The Florida Project. The name behind the camera, though, carries just as much weight, following Mudbound’s release on Netflix and in cinemas, with the period drama going on to nab two Oscar nominations. Rees is writing the script with Marco Villalobos, and will also executive produce the project, alongside Cassian Elwes, Jamin O’Brien, Wayne Godfrey and Robert Jones.

 

Netflix reunites with Dee Rees for The Last Thing He Wanted

25th May 2018

Dee Rees is reuniting with Dee Rees for her new film, The Last Thing He Wanted.

The film, which is based on Joan Didion’s 1996 book of the same title, is adapted by Marco Villalobos and Dee Rees. It follows hardscrabble journalist Elena McMahon who finds herself on dangerous ground as the Iran Contra Affair’s arms for drugs plot reaches its tipping point. Anne Hathaway has already been cast in the film as Elena.

It is produced by Cassian Elwes and Dee Rees, with Jamin O’Brien, Wayne Godfrey and Robert Jones on board as executive producers.

The project follows Netflix’s acquisition of Rees’ last film, Mudbound, which premiered to great acclaim at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was bought for $12.5 million – the biggest deal at the festival that year.

“A marvellous, important piece of filmmaking,” we described http://vodzilla.co/reviews/netflix-uk-film-review-mudbound/”>it in our review. ”A sumptuous, worthy rallying cry for empathy that resonates with America now as much as then. Believe the talk of award nominations: period tales rarely feel so relevant.”

It went on to be nominated for two Oscars.

Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group, comments: “Dee Rees is an incredibly talented filmmaker, who continues to make provocative and entertaining films. We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Dee and proud to have her part of the Netflix family.”

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